24" DS (Dead Simple) Flying Wing - Pics, Video, Plans

Well the Dead Simple flying wing has become a hit. This is the original 24" Wing I designed. There have been a number of builds and the majority of them have loved it. If you want a simple to build fly on rails flying wing look no further. It is quite aerobatic and eager to please, so it is not considered a trainer. If you have some experience under your belt with ailerons this is great first build and cheap!

Build Tips
- Easy way to remove paper from $Tree foam board
- Cover the majority of the plane in packing tape. It will double the stiffness and protect the soft foam from rocks, etc on landing.
- It is a small plane so build light.
- Make sure the CG is right (Did I mention the plane is small)
- Small batteries will be hard to balance the CG
- Balance the plane axially (roll)
- If covered with packing tape the plane will fly up to 40-50mph without spars.
- Spars can't hurt

Alright here are the schematics. This is version 2. I increased the elevon's area slightly and also made them parallel to the wing tips. The winglets are the same area as before but a different shape that is easier to cut out. This plane is all straight lines so it is very easy to measure out and cut. If you want the elevons to be easier just do 1.75"x8" strips and don't worry about them being parallel to the wing tips.

*EDIT* I have updated the elevons and have included a printout for them to make it easier to construct.

I have them drawn up in cad so it shouldn't be too hard to make tiled plans, but someone will have to come to my rescue for that. Let me know what you guys think. The CG is marked. Two schematics are shown, one without dimensions and one with.

*EDIT*
I did not use any reinforcement, except for strapping tape. The KFm airfoil seemed to add enough rigidity to the wing to warrant not using a spar. It makes it very easy to build. It took a hard tumble when I was messing around and there was no damage to the wing.

EDIT: Question... is that the CG mark at 5.5"? I'm at about 6" with the 460mah 3S (probably has to do with the heavier motor (Park 300) I'm using). Looks like I'm balancing properly with a 1200mah but it sure is fat

EDIT: Question... is that the CG mark at 5.5"? I'm at about 6" with the 460mah 3S (probably has to do with the heavier motor (Park 300) I'm using). Looks like I'm balancing properly with a 1200mah but it sure is fat

Looks great! I like the look of version 2, it is a bit more refined. 5.5" is the CG that I used. Calculated, 6" is very close to the neutral point, so it might be ok, but could be very pitch sensitive. KFm airfoils are suppose to be able to handle a wider range of CG, so you can try it out and see.

3s with a bigger motor; you have to get a film of it, if you can! I am thinking about putting a smaller 3s battery on mine just for fun. It seemed to handle the high winds yesterday very well. There is some breathing room on weight. 10 - 12 oz will start to be a pretty heavy wing loading.

Have fun and get some video of it, looks great and the best part, you are not stressed out for the maiden because it only took a little bit of time to put together. Should fly well.

I'm a nooby when it comes to foamies such as this, but I'm very interested in this plane and have a couple of very basic questions.

Is this plane made from plain 5mm foam board with paper on each side such as can be purchased at a Michael's Craft store or an Office Depot?

Is fiber reinforced 3M strapping tape such as the kind purchased from Office Depot reasonable to use for reinforcement?

How is the leading edge of the wing formed? Is it shaped at all under the reinforcement tape? Any other tips on getting a proper KFm airfoil shape to this wing?

Since you are using a HK-TR6A receiver, I presume you are using the HK-T6A transmitter -- the same transmitter I'm using. Any suggestions for getting the proper mix on the transmitter for proper functioning elevons?

I apologize for so many basic questions. Hopefully they aren't silly. I'm really interested in "dead simple" scratch built planes that can be so quickly/cheaply built parts.

The foam I am using is dollar tree - ready board. It is 3/16in or close to 5mm. If you can get it, it is the best because the paper comes off very easily. I put the board in the shower for about 5 minutes with hot water hitting it. I then spray it with LA totally awesome (sold at dollar tree) let it sit for 5 mins or so. The paper should come off in one sheet.

I am using 3m extreme packing tape, but any fiber reinforced strapping tape will work well. I like the extreme stuff, because it has bidirectional reinforcement.

This is a KFm2 (Top step at 50% chord). I simply stacked the step and laminated it to the main wing. I then sanded the top leading edge to give it a curved surface. Taped the leading edge to make it smooth.

It flys really well for a small wing.
MadMonkey- I just noticed your motor mount looks a little weak in the picture. I just had a hard crash with my DS because the motor broke loose in flight! Yesterday I noticed the mount felt a little loose on the foam. I reinforced it with more glue and had a great flight. Today I noticed it needed some more reinforcement, but flew anyways. After takeoff the plane just ripped to the right side into a hard roll and then hit the ground. I am pretty sure the motor broke loose. The wing actually took the crash very well. No real structural damage except for where the motor popped off. Light = Crash resistant. Anyways I am going to build version 2 today and maiden it Monday.

Flying wing motor mount

I built a flying wing a couple months ago. The motor mount seemed to have held up pretty well. I stacked two squares on the bottom, and one on top of the reinforcement piece (essentially two sheets thick), for a total thickness of 5 sheets thick. Then I sanded the vertical surface to make it smooth and glued a piece of wood directly on there.

Just an FYI on your power setup. With that motor and battery you can run a GWS 7x6 SF prop, and get some more punch out of it. The SEMMF'ers are running the same setup with the SF prop and getting a solid 5-7 minutes WOT flights for combat. With your lighter lower drag airframe you would put even less load agianst the motor. It will pull 8.5 A and make 65 watts.

Just an FYI on your power setup. With that motor and battery you can run a GWS 7x6 SF prop, and get some more punch out of it. The SEMMF'ers are running the same setup with the SF prop and getting a solid 5-7 minutes WOT flights for combat. With your lighter lower drag airframe you would put even less load agianst the motor. It will pull 8.5 A and make 65 watts.

Ken

Thanks Ken. What kind of thrust, pitch speed are they getting. I had some 8043SF that buzzed at higher RPMs, but that was on 3s and a different motor. Are they having anything like that? Thanks